Colemere - Wem Moss - Shropshire Union Canal - Colemere

Nick Freeman

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This walk starts at one of the lakes of 'the Shropshire Lake District'. In these parts a lake is known as a mere and this particular one is Colemere. We take a walk through some local villages and across some farmland, to find ourselves in a truly rare environment at Wem Moss (moss is simply the local word for bog).

Here, if you wish to, you may see adders basking in the sun or the six-inch raft spiders hunting for small fish by walking on the water. You can also see sundew plants that feed on insects by getting them stuck to their 'dew'.

As we continue, we see a windmill currently under renovation and then have a stroll back on the always interesting Shropshire Union Canal. There are plenty of picnic benches and seats along the way to sit and watch the world go by. The canal was built by Thomas Telford and was started in 1797. The particular stretch we walk was very problematic for him, as crossing the mosses was very difficult. He had to build the canal on a floating bed and lower the level of the mosses by five to six feet. As you walk along you will see holidaymakers and a growing population of canal dwellers, possibly including some barges selling canal-craft items.

We then finish by walking alongside Colemere, passing arguably the prettiest thatched cottage in Shropshire.

We do all this whilst passing into and out of Wales, including a stretch where you can cross the border by crossing the road.

This walk is, for all practical purposes, flat and although fairly long at 15km (nine miles), is still an easy walk.

Walk checked by writer Feb 2012

England - Central England - Shropshire - Canal Walk

Features

Birds, Butterflies, Flowers, Good for Kids, Hills or Fells, Industrial Archaeology, Lake/Loch, Mostly Flat, Nature Trail, Play Area, Pub, Wildlife, Woodland

5/3/2009 - Linda O

This was the first walk we did from Walkingworld and it was fantastic. Excellent directions which were helped by the photographs and useful pointers to areas of interest. A bonus was the pub was open!